An animation professional known for her desire to give forward to pros and fans alike, Shannon has expanded her reach to writing prose, and showcasing those authors as well. Read interviews and guest posts from INFINITE HOUSE OF BOOKS, plus Shannon's own content.

The SHANNON MUIR’S INFINITE HOUSE OF BOOKS column on Mondays and Wednesdays is a place at Shannon Muir’s author website open to interviews and guest posts from other authors. One thing Shannon firmly believes in for readers not only to learn about new books available, but about those who craft the tales behind them. As its name implies, SHANNON MUIR’S INFINITE HOUSE OF BOOKS weekly column features writers from all genres of fiction who want their potential audience to get to know them, and their works, better – and occasionally may offer features from Shannon herself that support readers to discover words.

Today, find out more about CHRISTMAS EVE DAUGHTER.

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When husband and wife, Eve and Patrick Gantly, discover a shocking secret from Patrick’s past, they make the difficult decision to use the old lantern once again to return to 1885. They hope to save his child from a tragic future.

Although they try to plan for every possible contingency, something goes wrong. They lose each other and end up in a different time! Nothing goes as planned. They struggle to save Patrick’s daughter from certain death, even as they search for the lost lantern that will return them to their own time.

Guest Review of the Book

Christmas Eve Daughter: Time Travel Novel by Elyse Douglas

Guest review by Laura Lee

‘The Christmas Eve Daughter is the sequel to ‘The Christmas Eve Letter’. It does refer to some content from the first book but it can be easily read as a standalone book.

Patrick is from 1885 and has time traveled and lives 130 years in the future. He and his present wife Eve find out that he has a daughter in the past that passed from unexplained reasons. Patrick did remember having an affair with a woman, Pauline, back in the past but he did not know she was pregnant.

After a lot of arguing, and Patrick’s nightmares about his daughter, Patrick and Eve plan a trip to the past to find his daughter before her passing and rescue her. The first thing they have to do is dust off the portal that allows them to time travel, a lantern. During time travel they seem to have road blocks at every turn. They lose the lantern and can’t return to the future until they find it, they get separated in time and are in two different places, they have trouble finding and saving Patrick’s daughter and the list goes on!

‘The Christmas Eve Daughter’ is well written and is near impossible to put down. The characters are believable and their conversation flows naturally. I can imagine them just popping into the authors’ head as they converse, like she just jotted down everything she heard. LOL!

I highly recommend ‘The Christmas Eve Daughter’. It would be an excellent book to discuss during the season with a book club and would make an excellent gift for the readers on your list! I give it a solid 5 out of 5 stars.

Guest Post from the Author

What If?

The Christmas Eve Daughter
by Elyse Douglas

Ideas for stories come in various guises and disguises. Sometimes a character appears and whispers a ‘what if,’ such as What if I experienced an alien abduction and the alien turned out to be my soul mate? Would we marry? Where would we live? On what planet?

Sometimes just a name will open endless possibilities, such as, What if a woman named Chris meets a guy named Chris, and they were born on the same day and year? And what if they grew up in different states, in towns that have the same name, say Hartfield, Connecticut and Hartfield, Texas? Let’s take it one step further. What if their dogs were both named Duke? It could be an interesting romantic comedy.

Every novel we write always begins with ‘what if’? What if, while browsing an antique shop, a young woman finds an old, attractive lantern? What if there’s something stuck inside the lantern? What if it’s a letter? And what if that letter is addressed to her from 1885? And, what if the lantern is a conduit, a time travel device, that sends the woman into the past to find out who wrote the letter and why? What if she meets the man of her dreams? Where would they live? In 1885 or 2018?

The Christmas Eve Letter, the first novel in the Eve and Patrick series, began with a sequence of ‘what ifs’? From there, we followed the threads to see where they would lead.

The Christmas Eve Daughter, the second novel in the series, began with, What if Patrick Gantly, who had time traveled from 1885 to 2018 and now lives in 2018, learns that he had a daughter back in 1885 that he never knew about. And what if, through an internet search, he learns that she became a well-known New York actress who was murdered by her underworld jealous gentleman friend? What if Patrick and Eve could use the time travel lantern once more to return to 1885 and save his baby daughter from her horrible fate? What if they don’t land in 1885, but rather, 1914?

A big challenge in writing time travel novels is to make the device and the travel believable. A time travel book must give the reader the smells, sights, sounds, language and social customs of that time. Research is essential.

Before and during the writing of The Christmas Eve Daughter, we spent much time reading old newspapers, magazines and letters. It was also helpful and exciting to watch movies from 1914 to get the look and feel of the time—to actually see the names of shops, restaurants and theatre marquees; to witness the fashion and the mode of transportation.

Slowly, but inevitably, as one does this kind of research, the ‘what ifs’ begin pouring in and the selection process begins. And, of course, that’s when the fun begins in writing the novel.

Picasso said, “Art is a lie that tells the truth.”

I recall reading a quote by Rainbow Rowell, who shares a birthday with Doug, February 24th, and who has written Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction.

“I like science fiction, I like fantasy, I like time travel, so I had this idea: What if you had a phone that could call into the past?”

Indeed… ‘What if,’ are two very powerful words for novelists, as well as readers who love the time travel genre, and indeed, any genre.

Praise for Christmas Eve Letter: Time Travel Novel by Elyse Douglas

“The Christmas Eve Letter is a wonderful Christmas novel. The authors weave an intriguing time travel holiday romance tale written in the third person narrative that follows Eve Sharland’s personal journey between the present and the past. The reader is easily drawn into this fast paced time travel holiday romance story as they follow Eve’s journey between the past and the present. The reader can easily envision both the present and the past among the city’s famous landmarks, and easily get drawn into the city’s joyous sights and sounds of the holiday season. You can’t help but relate to Eve and cheer her on as her personal journey brings an unexpected destiny that will change her life forever. I really enjoyed the intertwining of a time travel tale with a holiday romance twist, the historical references were realistic, while the time travel between the present and past kept me intrigued right to the end. Captivating.”-Kathleen, Jersey Girl Book Reviews

“If you are a fan of authors such as Nicholas Sparks and Marybeth Whalen, or H.G. Wells or Jack Finney, you need to add this book to your shelves.
This is a romantic suspense novel with many dangerous and tense moments. As always, when one travels in time, the concern of consequences and potential changes to history and the future weigh heavily on both the traveler’s and readers’ minds. Those worries added to the atmosphere but were also handled skillfully. I smiled at a certain twist of color. It is a perfect bookclub read.”-Laura’s Interests

“The Christmas Eve Letter is a beautiful, poignant story. It is well written and will have you turning the pages eagerly.
All of the characters are well thought out, and believably written, together with the well-constructed scenery, that has you feeling as if you yourself have just stepped into the past.
The story is unique and moving. It will hold you long after you turn the last page. A perfect Christmas tale of love and hope.”-Whispering Stories

A great plot and a very fast-paced and well told story. The women characters were strongly portrayed. I got taken on the ride of my life, traveling between different eras with Eve and waiting with bated breath to see how the story would turn out.-Corinne Rodrigues, Everyday Gyaan

About Elyse Douglas

Elyse Douglas is the pen name for the husband and wife writing team of Elyse Parmentier and Douglas Pennington. Elyse began writing poems and short stories at an early age and graduated with a degree in English Literature. Douglas began writing novels in college, while studying music at the Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music. He traveled the world as a professional pianist for many years. He has also worked as a copywriter and corporate manager.

Some of Elyse Douglas’ novels include: The Christmas Eve Letter (A Time Travel Novel), Christmas for Juliet, The Summer Letters, The Christmas Diary, The Summer Diary, and The Lost Mata Hari Ring. They live in New York City.

Buy Christmas Eve Daughter: Time Travel Novel by Elyse Douglas

Giveaway Christmas Eve Daughter: Time Travel Novel by Elyse Douglas

This giveaway is for one print copy or ebook copy of the book. Print is available to the U.S. only but ebook is available worldwide. This giveaway ends on November 30, 2018 at midnight pacific time. Entries are accepted via Rafflecopter only.

Teddy Rose

SHANNON MUIR began working in animation on shows like EXTREME GHOSTBUSTERS and INVADER ZIM, worked on the virtual world NEOPETS/PETPET PARK, and now has credits writing for animation and short stories.

VISIT SHANNON MUIR’S AUTHOR SITE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT HER MYSTERY AND CRIME WRITING!